A working paper written for and discussed/improved in a continuing
Seminar from 1994 to 1996 for the purpose of guiding speakers/authors
of possible contributions to the planned conference on "Pionieers of
Cultural Psychological Thinking" finally held in May 1996 in
Tramelan. The paper states the principal objectives of the framing
project as the reconstruction of the "second" stream of scientific
tradition where matters pychological are intrinsically connected with
the cultural system. The bulk of the paper consists of a matrix of
questions thought to be useful in coordinating the authoring of
contributions about the various pionieers. The questions range from
the (1) biographical to the (10) methodological. They ask (2) about
the pioneers' understanding of the idea of culture and (3) about his
vision of the role of the individual in the cultural system,
including (4) their conception of the ecological system and the place
the person, the group, the physical, and the symbolical within it. In
addition the pioneers' conceptions of (5) evolution, (6) the
psychological functions proper, (7) the relationship between the
biotic, individual and cultural change, (8) their notion of
causation, and (9) their typical fields of research are requsted. The
paper closes with a list of some 50 potential culture oriented
thinkers starting with Herder in the later 18th towards the middle of
the 20th century. Lists of actual culture-inclusive approaches and of
research fields for cultural psychology have been added.

(9) Lang, Alfred
(1994) Lewin and Vygotsky -- the radical and promising
metatheorists. 6th International Kurt Lewin Conference, Society for
the Advancement of Field Theory (SAFT). Presentation at Symposium on
Lewin and Vygotsky, Ann Arbor, 9.9.94. 8 Pp. to be revised.

@SciHist @PhiSci @SciTheo @Method @SemEcoPro 1994_06

Lewin und Vygotsky are of the most promising of all 20th century
psychologists. Both have offered original ideas in view of a science
of the human existence in an ecological and cultural perspective. The
presented paper wants to present and to compare some of their most
important lines of thought, primarily on a general methodological or
philosophy of psychological science level, yet with inclusion of the
substance of their contributions.

In the present state of the paper, the Lewin section is reasonably
elaborate though by no means completed, whereas the Vygotsky section
is still only rudimental. The paper is put on-line mainly for its
treatment of Lewin's notion of existential genetic series in their
import of doing a psychological science. Afar from a review of these
ideas by Kurt Back (1986) this is the only English language treatment
of the consequences for psychology Lewin has drawn from his
comparative-empirical studies on the sciences (cf. Lang 1992, Die
Frage nach den pychologischen Genesereiehen). In addition, it deals
with some of the problems of Lewin's attempts at doing a psychology
founded on genetic series. The most intriguing perspective is opened
with my thesis that Lewin, in fact, who has offered the idea of
branching and merging of genetic series in the biological sciences,
was on the verge of introducing the crucial notions of variation and
selection/valuation into psychology. This could have fully opened his
and our horizon towards the necessity of formally introducing the
cultural into psychology. Unfortunately, Lewin and Vygotsky have been
unable to get at a point of really joining their forces to
reconstruct psychological science and thus prepare our field for the
21st century. Two crucial prerequisites of making this possible are
shown to lie (a) in the replacement of the notion of genetic series
by a triadic condition-effect connection allowing for branching and
merging, and (b) by following the genetic process through the
ecological transaction among the individual and his environment. This
is provided for by semiotic ecology in the cultural function
circle.

The life work of Kurt Lewin is demonstrated to be an attempt at elaborating scientific psychology on the basis of genetic series of a psychologically adequate character. Lewin appears to have attempted in vain in psychology what he has achieved for physico-chemistry and biology, namely to explicate, by comparative analysis of the working of actual scientific traditions, their assumptions as to the existence of their scientific objects. Existence assumptions are implicit in conceptualizations and methodologies used to spell out the functional laws or rules reigning in the respective fields. Challenged by this deplorable status of scientific psychology Lewin has set out, it is suggested, to build a theoretical psychology and to design his various psychological undertakings as an examplary psychology satisfying such criteria. This thesis is corroborated on the basis of texts from various life stages, in particular of Lewins earliest writings. Lewin is described as an highly topical and fascinating philosopher of science. In addition, in the light of the above thesis Lewins seemingly disparate work gains in conceptual coherence.